


Ozymandias

by HerrKirschbaum



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Chess, Drinking & Talking, Fluff and Angst, Fluffy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Manga Spoilers, Romance, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2016-02-16
Packaged: 2018-05-21 03:58:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6037144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerrKirschbaum/pseuds/HerrKirschbaum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[Not Spoiler Free!]</p><p>As the Survey Corps returns after Erens release from Reiner's and Berthold's hands, everything has changed. The news about Erwins injury leaves the whole squad in shock and despair, ruining the brought in routines within split seconds. Before he knows, Levi finds himself confronted with the biggest challenge since the day of his accession - the worry about the person, that means everything to him.<br/>As Erwin is released from the hospital, everything is finally back in order. At least it seems that way...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ozymandias

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Ozymandias](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/176869) by HerrKirschbaum aka me. 



The pictures of that faithful day engraved themselves into his memories, in a way which would make it impossible to ever forget. He knew those scenes. During the past ten years he had to endure them way too often. But after all - on that day, things seemed slightly different.  
Levi Ackerman stood in the middle of the big hall that formed the entrance to the capitals military barracks. The walls were so high that people who wanted to take a glimpse at the ceiling - and furthermore, the remaining scenery - had to put their head into their neck. Plastered white, the lower parts of the walls once had been covered with deep brown oak wood. Huge, spacious windows offered the sunrays a way inside where they covered everything he could see with their bright, almost white light. Deafening riot filled the air. The calls of the arriving mixed into the screams of those who looked for their friends and loved ones among the home comers. Whenever the Survey Corps returned from a mission outside the walls, it was an established fact that not all would be able to find what they wished for. But today, the losses appeared to be remarkably high. From what used to be a unit of once one hundred troops, he could hardly discover forty remaining and those who made it back were in poor physical condition. It was something that he learned to accept by and by - although one could never really get used to it.

Levi folded his arms, pressed them firmly against his chest and waited with an impassive face. He remained in the background on purpose. Free of emotion, his grey eyes slid carefully over the crowds. Seeking, but without hurry he assimilated every detail. Only minutes ago, he had sat in his chamber and wrote reports for Erwin. He had written and he had waited. But in contrast to the younger ones he had stopped to crack his brain anxiously over every expedition long ago. And still - since Eren had joined their squad, things had changed as well. The little amount of safety they could claim for themselves was definitely gone.

With the return of the Survey Corps it didn’t take long until first rumors made the rounds and after the carrier had knocked at Levi’s door for the third time, spoiling his work once and for all, Levi had finally given up and came here. He wanted to ask the others what was true - and what was the result of some overzealous cadets imagination.  
There were hardly any soldiers he had talked to before in person so far. Only a few he knew by name and rank. Most of them belonged to age groups that barely had finished their basic training. A never ending flow of greenhorns, how were flushed into their quarters summer by summer, idealistic and enthusiastic, not knowing in what madness they got caught up in. When the first snow started falling, most of them were already gone. Levi had stopped to memorize the shapes of their faces, had stopped to remember their names. A continual coming and going. And usually, they did not return. Whenever possible, Levi tried to keep a certain distance. Interpersonal relationships formed a source of trouble that could cost his life out there in the titan infected distance. After all he was only human. And sometimes even he could not refrain from developing sympathies towards his subordinates.

For a second, pictures of his Special Operations Squad flashed upon his inward eye and sent a cold shiver down his spine. The motionless faces of those who had entrusted their lives to him haunted him by day and night. In secret, he asked himself when he would reach the point where the death of his Squad would strike him with all its power. Whatever had affected him until now was nothing more than the quiet before the storm. He thought of Petra, whose shattered torso leaned against the giant tree, the empty gaze staring into the sky. The words of her father, and the dying hope that had filled his voice. On that day Levis face had been nothing more than a mask of self-control. Only after the door to his room had closed behind him, he found himself able to let it go.

Something disrupted the noise of the returnees and caused Levi to take notice. It was Hanji’s voice that filled the air, loud and insistent as usual. Levi took a while until he realized that it was his very own name she shouted, and instantly, he found himself broad awake. A tone, he knew just too well and that hardly ever predicted something good, inhered her voice.

Dead still his eyes followed her, who cleaved her way through the crowds, occasionally clashing into passing cadets, just to push them aside without any further gestures of apology. The rapidness of her movements and the rushed expression in her face formed first, disturbing heralds of what ought to come. As she reached him finally, she heavily grabbed his shoulders. Levi used to hate her doing that, since it only underlined the fact, that she overtopped him not only a little. And he was not comfortable with her being that close as well. But it was her gaze that kept him from reprimanding her this time. Like all of those who made it back into the inner walls, she appeared to be exhausted and dirty. The stains of rust red color that remained on her uniform jacket could impossibly be those of a titan and indicated that it had to be spots of human blood. So what the rumors said was true. This expedition must had been an inexpressible slaughter.

Like a bench vice, her fingers drilled into his shoulders and indicated the inner pressure she still must have been under. She used to go too hard with her colleagues. Olou could have told a thing or two about this behavior when he was still alive. Levi’s eyes wandered over her face in silence. Her hair was a mess, sticking out in almost every imaginable direction while her huge, brown eyes hardly seemed to notice him. Gradually, Levi felt more and more uncomfortable. His heart started hammering, leaving a dull pain within his chest. It was the feeling of immense danger and unpleasant foreshadowing, which rarely ever gripped him and more seldom turned out to be unjustified. Like back then, when he was destined to watch Farlan and Isabel being devoured in front of his eyes. Or when he rushed through the forest, searching for his Squad, who had been extinguished almost completely at this point - back then, he had felt the same.  
“What’s wrong?”, he muttered finally and his voice sounded remarkably monotone and brittle. His mouth was dry and the beat of his heart gathered speed progressively. Hanji, who at least seem to realize that she grabbed him with the desperation of a drowning, let him go and stepped back. Her gaze revealed worry and deep exhaustion. After she stood silent for a few seconds, she lifted her head and began to stare at him. When she opened her mouth again, her voice was nothing more but a dim whisper.  
“It’s about Erwin.”

~*~

Her depictions had pulled, bit by bit, the rug out from under Levi’s feet. She told him everything. Beginning from the betrayal of Reiner and Bertholdt, over Eren being kidnapped, Erwin’s injury to the fact, that he himself had finished the mission without even showing any sign of the pain he must have felt. She pictured how Erwin collapsed within the inner walls as soon as they had returned. Still alive, the shock and high loss of blood had soon let to a critical condition, that left open, whether he would survive or not.

When Levi had entered the sick room of his superior for the first time, the thick scent of fresh blood had still filled the air. He remembered the copper bowl that had been placed on the side table in front of Erwin’s bed. The water had been clear once, but gradually had taken the deep red color of the blood-soaked bandages. The smell of burned flesh had engraved itself into the wooden beams. Somehow they needed stop the bleeding.

How many hours he had spent at his bedside, Levi could not tell. Not just once he had held the air still, watching the motionless body under the white sheets with wide eyes, as he was uncertain if his friend was still breathing. Usually, death overtook them suddenly and without further warnings. To be confronted with such infirmity had overstrained them all.

Whenever the blanked slipped, Levi had adjusted it. Nevertheless, every view of the stump brought him to his limits. Until that day they used to return unscathed from every expedition, were gentled through the survival of the year 850. And still it did not change that they were mortal was well. One wrong decision was enough to end their lives. Hope was the only thing that remained. Hope, that they had bet on the right side of the coin. Most of the time Levi managed it through the day without wasting a single thought about those kind of things, ignoring the burden of responsibility that had been placed on his shoulders. He lived from day to day. Levi did not know when was the last time he had made plans that reached beyond the period of one month.  
“Levi.”  
Somebody was knocking on the door. Levi, who had stood in the middle of his room, his arms folded in front of his chest, started up. He had leaned against his desk that stood next to the narrow bed and was so deep in thoughts, that he had blanked out his surroundings completely. In his hands he held a small book, in which he had scrolled in, before his thoughts had taken him away. It contained poems of Percy Shelly. A sober binding, yet it had seen better days. The pages were greasy and yellowed. Light blue linen secured it from falling apart. It exhaled that fragrance that books used to take over the years when they reached a certain age. People used to say that this scent was the actual soul of every book. Levi did not think much of such statements. He was a man with pragmatic tendencies.

Though his room was the one of a corporal, it didn’t offer the luxury one could find in the commanders quarters. A bed, a desk, a dresser. A side table made of cherry wood with two matching chairs. Big windows. Curtains. An oil lamp made of copper illuminated this scene with its warm, dim light. The furniture was sober, made to last for decades. The location of the room, far away from the big floors and staircases, guaranteed silence, whenever Levi wished for it. Not a single speck of dust disturbed the cleanliness of this place.

One week had passed since the conference with commander Pixis and Erwin. It was the day when Hanji mentioned the assumption that titans could be of human origin. That strange smile that appeared on Erwin’s face soon after was something Levi could not forget, as well as the tantalizing anxiety, the most capable strategist of the Survey Corps could be on the point of losing his mind.

Levi lifted his head and looked to the door, from which the disruptive sound seemed to come. Erwin stood in the door frame. Like Levi, he did wear civilian. Dark pants, leather boots, a plain, white shirt and the bolo tie made from blue lapis lazuli covered his massive body. The sleeve of his right arm was stuck into the waistband, appearing empty in a strange, unnatural way. A pair of aquamarine blue eyes keenly sparkled through the twilight. He appeared more rested compared to their last meeting. His hair was in perfect shape. The face neatly shaved. Everything on him seemed clean and neat. Levi had always appreciated his tidiness.  
“Erwin.”  
He furrowed his brows in surprise, only understanding as he saw the dark brown wooden box Erwin carried under his left arm. His thought really had carried him away. During the past few days, Levi had sometimes found himself unable to even remember the date, so much had happened. As if in trance he had forced himself through the days. Neither of them had had time to breath, to rest, to let it all sink in. Only for a second, Levi eyed the slim, cleanly worked box. Every week, usually on Sundays, Erwin appeared in his room and challenged him to a round of chess. It started only weeks after Levi had joined the Survey Corps. Nothing more than a purely matter of duty in the beginning, it had evolved into a pleasant ritual in this world of absolute uncertainty.

Chess. The game of kings.

Not waiting for any other word, Erwin entered and shut the door with his food. An amused smile curled the commanders lips.

“You look tired, Levi.”

“Sleep got a raw deal recently.”

A knowing grin appeared on Erwin’s face. It was a well known fact that Levi hardly slept more than three hours. With that certain kind of calmness that resided one who had visited a friend’s home way too often, Erwin crossed the room and placed the chess set on the table. After that, he started to set it up. 

Mutely, Levi observed the scene, before he laid the book on the desk and moved nearer towards the side table. His countenance, though still severe, had lightened several shades. It was hard to notice, but he was pleased to have him by his side again.

“Did the medics finally let you go?”

Erwin’s smile didn’t fade while he was setting up the chess pieces. Due to the fact that Erwin could only act single-armed, it took a little longer than usual.

“Yes.”

They tended to fall silent when they were with each other, but with everything they did, with every movement, every eye contact, they expressed an unconditional trust which showed they could understand each other even without words.

After he had set up the last piece, Erwin lifted his head and patterned his counterpart. They looked at each other and Levi could notice. There it was again, the gamblers expression that Erwin used to make when it was about absolute victory or defeat. He had an absolute self-confidence that could not be found within their comrades. Challenging, he nodded to Levi.

“Prepared to be beaten again, Levi?”

With an amused snorting he grabbed the chair and pulled it back.

“Don’t be too sure about that, Erwin.”

Their chess games usually proceeded in a similar way. Though both began with strong moves, slowly but steadily Erwin gained the upper hand. Levi always ended up with his back on the wall. Like an animal that saw no way out, Levis movements became more and more impulsive with growing difficulty. Fighting was his strength, but the strategist among them was definitely Erwin.

Both stared at the board in silence. Erwin seemed to rest in himself. With a self-confident expression on his face he was sitting there, the hand in his lap. In contrast, Levi had bent over. His elbows were propped up on the table top, while the fingers of his right hand were playing with a pawn, he had taken away from Erwin rounds ago. His face had the same earnest gaze as usual, his eyebrows deeply furrowed. The black, silky hair covered his pinched eyes, that examined the board as if spellbound, searching for a movement that would provide him some benefit. Their game was close to the end. Only a short time until the winner was decided. With a deep breath he bended over and moved one of the black pieces.

“King from D8 to C7.”

The nod that followed was barely seen, but Levi knew that Erwin had noticed. The blue eyes glided over the board, while he motionlessly must have been thinking about his next movement. Although it was hard to guess from the outside, Levi knew, that in his mind, Erwin was playing through option by option, not unlike an algorithm, to avoid even the slightest possibility of a mistake. Observantly, the corporal watched his superior. Trapped in a mixture of fascination and suspicion he couldn’t take his eyes off of him. Out of convenience, Erwin hadn’t buttoned up his white shirt completely. Levi noticed the white bandages, that embraced his body from the stump to his chest, so nothing could shift. Suddenly he remembered the blood soaked sheets and the scent of death, that had dominated the sick room for days and subtly he took a deep breath. A freezing cold clump filled his stomach. He pressed his lips together until they formed not more than a slim line. Seeing Erwin this way - in a strange way, he had always displayed an aura of absolute invulnerability. His minds astuteness went hand in hand with his physical flawlessness. He captured a doggedness in his heart that Levi was well familiar with. Both were capable to drop their humanness, when it was necessary to reach a higher goal. They were more alike as Levi would have liked to admit in the beginning of their friendship. It was the reason, why he had longed to get rid of him, back then, in 844. By now, he was very well aware about that.

“Bishop from G5 to D8.”

Levi lifted his gaze and watched silently, as Erwin moved the piece with a knowing sparkling in his eyes. After he had placed it, he leaned back with a pleased expression. Maneuvering, Levi’s eyes overflew the board before he took a deep breath. Afterwards, he lifted his head and their eyes met. “Check mate”, Erwin said.

“I’m not blind, Erwin.”

On the commanders face an expression of kind mockery appeared.

“Will I live to see you beating me one day?”

Levi, with an annoyed expression, raised his eyebrows. He ignored Erwin’s amused smile and stood up, while he refused to answer. Slowly he went over to the commode and opened with practiced hands, Erwin behind him.

“You do know that I let you win, right?”, he remarked casually and ignored the gentle laugh that formed the answer.

“Of course.”

Levi removed a bottle made from sheer crystal, in which an amber liquid sloshed around. Two matching, heavy glasses followed. He could hear Erwin in the background, who arranged the chess pieces for another match. Inside, Levi sighed in silence. For almost ten years this was a trusted ritual, but except for a few selected matches, Erwin had won them all. Levi didn’t understand, why he stuck to this in such a persistent way. Levi himself would have long lost his interest and moved on to better things.

He reached for the cap and suddenly stopped in the middle of his movement. For a split second, his heart stopped beating. The same pictures kept on flaring before his inner eye, with every moment of carelessness. Isabel. Farlan. Petra.  
As the first loss had torn his heart into pieces, the loss of his squad had taken a while, until he had fully realized what happened. All those years in the Survey Corps had dulled him, like a window, that hadn’t been cleaned for ages. One day, even the sunlight would hardly hit the insides ground, not able to show off their full beauty. Normally those flashbacks were kept within reasonable limits, but in times like this, where the events started to overturn, it got worse. He tried not to care. Everybody had to deal with his own problems.

Silently he looked at the glassy ball that formed the bottle cap. It was so clean and serene that he could mirror himself. Tired, bloodshot eyes stared towards him. They had seen more than someone should see in a whole human life but still he had hardly changed over all those years. Only subtle wrinkles around his eyes revealed that ten years had passed since his accession. Beneath him, small and blurred, he recognized Erwin, who still unswervingly ordered the chess pieces. Sometimes, the possibility of an alternative reality passed them so scarce that Levi could almost feel them with his very own body. Only one more second of negligence and he would sit here all alone tonight. For a moment he closed his eyes and tried to shake off this thought with all his power.

“Humanities strongest soldier and their most remarkable strategist at the same time? That would be too much of a good thing”, he said. His mouth twitched. “I don’t want to make you unemployed, Erwin.”

He grabbed the glass ball and opened the bottle. As he poured the liquor into their glasses, Erwin laughed in the background. It was a relaxed, honest and delighted laughter. Surprised, Levi turned around. Erwin, who finally had prepared the chess board for another play, amusedly looked at him. On chin and forehead, Levi could discover scratches, that, hardly healed, shimmered rosy in the dim light of the oil lamps.

“Is this the bottle of commander Pixis?”, Erwin asked.

“Yeah.”

Even though he didn’t feel like it, a gentle smile appeared on Levi’s lips. Pixis’ twentieth anniversary three months ago. A long, boring event, in which too many men, that took themselves too seriously, held dull monologues over the fact that they had served the kingdom better than anyone else. Five infinite hours they were stuck until Erwin finally granted the permission to leave. Hanji had fell asleep in the middle, her head resting against Levi’s shoulder, drooling and snorting silently. It was one of those afternoons, where Levi had been sure, that there was no chance that fighting titans was the worst thing on earth. And, no surprise, the Survey Corps revenge for this cruel, never ending event had followed immediately. While Erwin had gained the attention of those present with charisma and conversation, Levi had taken the bottle and sneaked outside with the recklessness of a thief. Pixis that old boozer, hadn’t noticed until today.

Levi returned to the side table and handed Erwin the glass. Erwin appeared a little clumsy while taking it. He used to be a right-hander. Although trained in the two-handed use of his swords, it would take a while until he would finally come to terms with his loss.

For a long time Levi’s eyes rested on that blonde commander, who, with his eyes closed, took the first sip. His appearance was the same as usual. Except for the lost arm, there was no difference for the naked eye. Was it possible to be that confident while facing such a tragic loss? If so, why did his heart start to ache whenever he noticed that Erwin’s right arm was gone forever?

He shifted his left hand inside the pocket of his pitch black suit trousers and took a first sip. The alcohol’s soft burn immediately brought him back to earth. For a moment nobody lost a word. Silently, Levi looked at the glass in his hands. The liquids warm, soft color calmed him down a little.

“What are you reading there?”

Levi lifted his head and looked over Erwin, whose gaze stuck on the small book that Levi had placed on his desk earlier.

“That book of poems by Percy Shelley.”

He examined the binding for a second before his gaze wandered around, lost in thoughts. He wasn’t much of a reader, could never identify with all that intellectual things the others used to talk about. Whenever Hanji got lost in her excessive scientific monologues, it made the hairs stand up in the back of his neck. For him, that technical vocabulary was just another way of the ruling class to separate themselves from the dregs of society. He just couldn’t understand why someone would spent so much time and effort with things that wouldn’t be of any direct use in the real life. He had never been a guest to the ivory tower and there was no desire to change this.

The book itself once was Erwin’s. One, two years ago, before he had given it to him. Levi couldn’t remember whether Erwin just had finished reading it, or if it was an actual present for a special occasion. Despite everything, Erwin still was his father’s child, a son from a well educated, bourgeois family. And even though Levi usually didn’t read, the poems he had found in that book had lifted his spirits.

“It fell into my clutches while I was cleaning.”

He had actually just wanted to have a look and put it away afterwards. But without noticing, he got caught himself up until Erwin’s knocking had brought him back. Erwin nodded slightly, left out an answer and just sipped on his half empty drink. Keeping silent they held out beneath each other, while Levi’s thoughts progressively drifted away again. All at once, a sudden feeling of sorrow gripped him, something he couldn’t understand and that disturbed him a fortiori. His heart felt heavy. His fingers grip tightened while holding the glass. There was no point in pretending. Life was cruel. Acting all sentimental wasn’t his way of dealing with things. He acted rational and severe. And still - suddenly the fear of losing everything ignited in his heart, the fear there could be a reality in which Erwin couldn’t be with him anymore. There was no one who achieved more in order to save humanity than Erwin. There was no one he trusted more. That knew him, like Erwin did. That understood him. Cherished him. Suddenly he felt all lost and alone. Like an icy hand that reached for his heart, a shiver captured his body while a long forgotten pain filled his chest. His eyes turning towards Erwin, he raised his voice.

“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings. Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair.”

It was the poem he had read before and which he just could not forget. With every word he spoke he realized how much those verses suited Erwin, who examined Levi’s table while the glass of liquor still rested in his hands. By just watching his profile Levi could tell that the other’s expression changed while he spoke. The self-confidence he had embodied before while they racked their brains over the chess game progressively faded, letting Erwin’s face appear soft and exhausted all of a sudden. Not long after, it was his voice that filled the air.

“Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare the lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Silence.

Levi looked at the glass he still held. To his own surprise, a slight trembling had gripped his limbs. Silently, he regarded the swashing, brown content and raised his head as he noticed something from the corner of his eyes. Erwin was watching him. With the gentle expression of tender melancholy his gaze focused on him, a subtle smile on his lips. Just for a moment, their eyes met and Levi’s heartbeat accelerated. The severe, mask-like expression on his face increasingly disappeared and offered a deeply unsettled face. He felt vulnerable and assailable and he detested those feelings from the bottom of his heart.

“Levi?””, Erwin asked. He didn’t try to hide his sorrow.

Levi didn’t answer. Instead, he lowered his gaze and wordlessly finished his drink. It didn’t help. The trembling remained.

“Levi”, Erwin asked again. The sound of his voice was too much for Levi to bear.

“What?!”

His answer was nothing more than a huddled sizzle. The corporals gaze darkened within split seconds. Angry, slate blue eyes sparkled through the twilight towards the commander who didn’t show any emotion concerning Levi’s reaction. It was, as if Erwin just glanced into his soul. Like back then, as he had convinced him to join the Survey Corps, right after Farlan and Isabel had been devoured. Something threatening stuck to this omniscient-like empathy. Levi didn’t want this. In front of Erwin, he couldn’t even keep the slightest secret. Couldn’t Erwin leave him alone, even if it was only so long until he had picked up his courage again?

Slowly, Erwin stood up. With caution, he removed the glass from Levi’s hands and placed it on the side table. Then, with a sudden jerk, he pulled Levi against his chest. The remaining arm looped around the narrow shoulders and even though he struggled in the beginning, Levi quickly surrendered. Resigned, his head sank against Erwin’s chest. It was, as if someone had taken away the pressure of the past days, that had hardly let him breath. He had functioned in order to master the tasks given to him, but now, where things had calmed down he had come to terms that the pain over Erwin’s loss was not only Erwin’s, but his as well. He closed his eyes and looped his arms around his counterparts torso, while first, bitter tears ran down his cheeks. Anger that was close to naked desperation shook him, making him unable to form a clear thought. How could it be that the good ones died on the front lines while the government was only thinking about their own profit? Didn’t they see what Erwin had done for them? Why did it have to be him? Did they survived too long without any serious harm? Was it their punishment to live while others had to drop like flies? His fingers grabbed the freshly stiffened shirt, while his shoulders trembled under these erupting emotions.

Yes, he had been scared that Erwin could have died while he was around, watching over him on his bed. Out there, beyond the walls, he could interfere. In the sick room though, he had been helpless. To claim something like this in their position was egoistic and dumb, but he himself had a limit of which he could bear. This year had been a year of great losses unfailingly killing those of who he had thought they would make it up to the next week or maybe next month. Just a little longer.

They remained like this for a couple of minutes, until the sobbing faded and Levi’s mind gradually calmed down. What remained was sheer emptiness. Powerless, his forehead rested against Erwin’s chest. Standing here like this, wrapped into the warmth of someone he loved, he finally realized how exhausted he was. Tired, he closed his eyes.

“If you die”, he grumbled while gritting his teeth, “I will find you and I promise you I will kick your corpses fucking ass.”

Erwin’s chest trembled with gentle laughter. Surprised, Levi lifted his head. The aquamarine blue eyes rested on him, filled with tender affection.

“It might be better to live on then.”

Erwin leaned forwards and pressed his lips against the corporals temple. Then he raised his hand, carefully caressing the tears from Levi’s face. Every touch was like balm for his stressed nerves. For ten years it was the first time he had lost his temper in front of Erwin. Still, he didn’t feel any shame. Everything was alright. They didn’t keep any secrets from each other. A soft sigh left Levi’s throat, before his head once more sank against Erwin’s chest who leaned forward, until his forehead touched Levi’s hair.

“We will be the sand that buries that colossal one day”, he whispered in a soft voice, while letting his fingers run through Levi’s hair, who nodded timidly. Slowly, the cold single-mindedness that was typical for him, returned into his eyes. One day, they would find out the titan’s secret and change humanities destiny for the better. Neither they knew how long this would take, nor if both would be alive when that moment once came. But as long as they could fight side by side, there was nothing Levi feared. 

Erwin’s fingertips slid under the edge of Levi’s chin, forcing him to look up. For a moment, their eyes met, before Erwin stole a kiss from him, so subtle and short that one could think it was only a breath of wind. A gentle smile appeared on Levi’s lips, who nodded in silence.

“Yeah”, he whispered. “And we will live.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey~
> 
> Thank you very much for making it so far. I'm glad and appreciate the effort it must have took you to read all of this :]  
> This is my first SnK-Fanfiction I published almost one year ago in april 2015. Back then in German, I decided to translate it into English to make it available for the international fandom as well.
> 
> Did you know that Erwin Smith is based on Ozymandias from Watchmen? I researched a little and finally found that poem of Percy Shelly, which seemed to have influenced the creation of Watchmen as well. I found that a few lines suited Erwin quite well and came up with that story you just read.
> 
> English isn't my mother tongue and though I have a wonderful beta reader from Holland, there might be still one or two mistakes. Have mercy with us :>
> 
> If you want to know where you can find me elsewhere, feel free to check my profile for Tumblr, Twitter and more~
> 
> I hope to see you at my next FF!
> 
> MonsieurCerise


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